Since I am only one year out of college, it is difficult for me to find ways to go green without spending the extra money. I am already on a tight budget with rent, utilities, car insurance, student loans, etc. Luckily, I have been doing enough research and digging that I have begun to find recycled and eco-friendly products that are the same price or cheaper than the name brand ones I usually use.
What I stumbled across this week was a great find. At www.recycline.com they make personal care items, tableware and kitchenware all from recycled material. The products that caught my eye the most were the toothbrushes, tongue cleaners and razors. Everyone needs those three things…well at least the toothbrush and razor, but I’m sure the tongue cleaner wouldn’t hurt.
The Preserve toothbrushes are made from recycled yogurt cups. Then once it is time to replace your toothbrush, you send the toothbrush and case back to Preserve and the old toothbrushes are recycled into plastic lumber for picnic tables, boardwalks and decks. You don’t even have to pay for postage. There is a place on the site where you print out a postage paid label! Depending on how often you change your toothbrush, Preserve allows you to choose when you will receive the next one. You can get one every 2,3,4,5 months or all four at once. And the best part about it is four toothbrushes only cost $11.00!! The name brand toothbrushes such as Reach, Oral B, and Colgate cost between $3.00 and $3.50 for one. So if you do the math you save $1.00 minimum depending on what brand you choose to use. Plus Preserve is recyclable.
If you find yourself needing a tongue cleaner, you can get four for $11.75. When I searched for other brands of tongue cleaners, they were somewhere between $4.00 and $6.50 for one. Again, using Preserve would save you money.
Preserve also offers double and triple blade razors. The double blade razor is $7.25 for one and five replacements are $5.25. The triple blade razor is $7.49 for one and four replacements are $7.49. To compare brands, both Schick and Venus seem to cost around $10.00 for one razor. This is a couple more dollars for a name brand than you would spend on Preserve. Razors seem to be one place where no one, men or women, want to bargain for cheaper. But, the kicker for me is in the replacements. For Schick razors, six replacements cost $23.42. For Venus Vibrance, four refill razors cost $15.65. There is just no comparison when it comes to price. Preserve is way, way cheaper.
Keep in mind all of these products are recycled from the yogurt cups and then collected and re-recycled.
So, as you can see, going green doesn’t always have to cost more. By the way, I am ordering the toothbrushes along with the tongue cleaner, so I will have a product review very soon! I want to make sure that you aren’t losing the effectiveness and quality while trying to go green.
